IBM puts executive on leave after charges

(AP) -- IBM Corp. has placed a top executive on leave after he was charged in an insider trading scandal for allegedly leaking secrets about IBM's earnings and financial dealings with corporate partners.

The company says Robert Moffat, a senior vice president and cost-cutting maven who was considered a top candidate to succeed CEO Sam Palmisano, no longer serves as an officer of the company. A woman who answered the phone at Moffat's home in Connecticut said he would not comment.

Rodney Adkins, who has been senior vice president in charge of development and manufacturing, was tapped to assume Moffat's position on an acting basis. That gives him oversight over IBM's mainframes and computer servers.

Adkins is the highest-ranking black executive IBM has ever had.

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